In this war that has been going on for almost a month, the possibility of truces, however short they may be and based on a military rather than a humanitarian objective, has never been seriously discussed until now. U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday discussed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the "possibility of tactical pauses" by the Israeli military in the blood-soaked Palestinian enclave of Gaza to allow the Palestinian civilian population to flee the fighting.
In a phone conversation, the two leaders "discussed the possibility of tactical pauses to provide civilians with opportunities to safely leave combat zones, ensure aid reaches civilians in need, and allow for the potential release of hostages," according to a White House statement. The US president visited Israel on Wednesday 18 October, where he met with Netanyahu to "reaffirm the solidarity of the United States" with the Jewish state.
Calls for calm on the international stage
In recent days, calls for calm have multiplied. Washington, Cairo and Doha have recently called for a temporary ceasefire in the enclave, which has been shelled by the Israeli army, in order to protect civilians, evacuate foreigners or dual nationals trapped in the Palestinian territory and to continue negotiating the release of hostages. Emmanuel Macron campaigned last Friday for a "humanitarian truce because the fight against terrorism does not justify sacrificing civilians".
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who visited the Middle East last week, said he had discussed with Benjamin Netanyahu the possibility of "humanitarian pauses" in the conflict to protect Palestinian civilians and increase aid distribution, remarks he repeated on Saturday. The idea seems to have caught on, even if the reason given for these potential truces seems "tactical" rather than humanitarian.
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According to the latest tally from Hamas' Health Ministry on Monday, 10,022 people, mostly civilians, including more than 4,000 children, have been killed in the Gaza Strip since October 7 in the devastating Israeli bombardment. Since 7 October, according to Israeli authorities, at least 1,400 people have died on the Israeli side, mostly civilians killed on the same day as the attack on an unprecedented scale in Israel by Hamas.